Up-to-date Modalities in the Prevention of Oral Mucositis:
A Literature Review

 

 Bojan Poposki¹, Kiro Ivanovski¹, Ana Pejčić^2,3, Vlatko Kokolanski¹, Ivana Stanković²

¹Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Faculty of Dentistry, Skopje, North Macedonia
²University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine,
 Niš, Serbia
³Clinic of Dental Medicine, Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine,
Niš, Serbia

 

 SUMMARY

 

Introduction/Aim. Oral mucositis is an acute, inflammatory, and ulcerative condition of the oral mucosa caused by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Considering the frequency of oral mucositis, its impact on the physical and mental health of patients, as well as the depletion of the economic capacities of an individual and society, the importance of prevention and management of oral mucositis is clearly highlighted. The aim of our study was to determine the modern preventive modalities for oral mucositis.
Literature review. A search of studies indexed in the literature from 2002 to 2022 was conducted using the PubMed database. The search was conducted with the keywords: stomatitis, mucositis, oral mucositis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, prevention, and oral cancer. There are numerous preventive modalities for oral mucositis, including: patient education, professional oral health care, home hygiene, rinsing solutions, anti-inflammatory agents such as benzydamine, photobiomodulation, cryotherapy, miconazole, liquid mucoadhesive hydrogel, high potency polymerized cross-linked sucralfate, morphine mouthwash solution, growth factors and cytokines, honey, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B2, zinc, and glutamine.
Conclusion. The following preventive modalities for oral mucositis stand out as the most significant in the literature: benzydamine, laser therapy according to the specifications available in the literature, cryotherapy, 0.2% morphine mouthwash solution, and orally administered glutamine. The variability in the results indicates the complex nature of this clinical entity and the need for additional research, which will support the existing results and enrich the literature with new preventive modalities.

 Keywords: stomatitis, oral mucositis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, prevention, oral cancer

 

   

Corresponding author:

Ivana Stanković

e-mail:  ivanaobradovic84@hotmail.com